Learning from Kintsugi: Can We Repair Our ‘Broken Skills’ System with Gold?| FE Soundbite 781

January 25, 2025

Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 781: 25th January 2025 | Learning from Kintsugi: Can We Repair Our 'Broken Skills' System with Gold?| FE Soundbite 781

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News

Gavin’s Reflective Perspective

NEETs, Menopause and Economic Inactivity: Are We Missing the Connection?

The ONS Labour Market figures this week have got me thinking... For 18 consecutive months, we've had over 2.7 million people economically inactive due to long-term sickness. This isn't just a statistic - it's a wake-up call about how we support people into work.

Here's where it gets really interesting with my quick Gavin Maths... We have 900,000 women who have left their jobs due to menopause (as highlighted in Laura Gordon's article), and we've got 1.25 million young people who are NEET (up 29% since the pandemic according to Stephen Evans at L&W). These aren't just parallel challenges - they're interconnected pieces of our skills and employment system.

Do we need to be thinking in more Interconnected way about our Skills and Employment System?

Career Connect's fascinating research showed that 88% of NEETs either have diagnosed ADHD or show traits of it. Even more striking - 60% of girls without an existing diagnosis were highly likely to have ADHD. Are we really supporting our young people effectively if we're missing these crucial diagnoses that could be barriers to employment?

So Why Are We Creating False Battles in Apprenticeships?

Thomas Burton's article really resonated with me this week. Why are we creating this artificial battle between entry-level and degree apprenticeships? We've got record numbers of economically inactive people, yet we're debating whether to restrict access to advanced level apprenticeships? As Tom points out - this isn't about choosing between young people and career changers - it's about creating a system that works for everyone.

Lizzie Crowley's CIPD research shows that 41% of young people are now economically inactive (compared to 26% in 1992), and the proportion of 16-17 year olds combining education with work has plummeted from 42% in 1997 to just 20% now. Shouldn't we be focusing on creating more opportunities for everyone rather than restricting them?

Kintsugi Skills: Finding Beauty in Our Imperfect Skills System

I've been thinking about Kintsugi and our Skills System a lot recently.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art where broken pottery is repaired with golden glue, creating something even more beautiful than before. The word kintsugi translates to "joining with gold", which is kind of cool. I am a bit fed up of hearing (and also thinking) our skills system is a bit broken. The figures above are frustrating, (especially when you remember that this isn't just numbers, but actual people we are talking about).

The more I have thought about this, the more I have been thinking more deeply about the concept of Wabi-sabi, which is finding beauty in the imperfection.

Maybe we need to reframe our thinking of our skills system (and I am talking to myself here)? Instead of seeing the gaps between different parts as breaks that need fixing, what if we saw them as opportunities to create stronger connections? Inlaid with Gold? The skills system, like life and work... are interconnected.

How can we embrace this interconnectedness, using golden threads to highlight these connections and transform our system into something even more beautiful than before - just as Kintsugi does with broken pottery?

I hope you enjoy this week's FE Soundbite.